


Finding the Way when your Eyes are Shut Tight

by DoctorProfessor



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Angst, Coda, Family Feels, Gen, introspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 11:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20096374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorProfessor/pseuds/DoctorProfessor
Summary: A coda to Minotaur Maze.





	Finding the Way when your Eyes are Shut Tight

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by my own desperation for more content in this fandom. ROTTMNT is SO GOOD you guys. Also Leo is my try-hard son and I love him, although I sure do make things hard for the poor kid.
> 
> This has not been beta'd, all mistakes are mine.

The gentle noise of Run of the Mill Pizza faded into the cool city night behind them as they made their way up the nearest fire escape, Mikey springing ahead of his brothers and flipping up onto the roof. He was soon followed by Raph and Donnie, who were in the middle of a heated debate on the merits of thin crust versus thick.

"I'm telling you Donnie, if I don't get that sweet crunch outta every bite, it ain't worth my time," Raph exclaimed, hauling himself up the last few rungs and joining his youngest brother where he was waiting eagerly at the edge of the roof.

"The opinion of a true philistine! An experienced connoisseur - such as my humble self, ahem - would know that the thicker crust better absorbs and enhances the flavours of the toppings, elevating the whole dish to heights that no mere thin crust could possibly hope to attain," Donnie declared, sounding out each word as though he was speaking to a bit of sewer gunk that had managed to gain basic sentience. Not that that had ever happened to anything that sat too close to some of Donnie's more radioactive experiments, not that he would ever admit it out loud. 

"Thin, thick, everyone knows that the real trick to crust comes from the toss," Mikey said cheekily as he took a running forward flip, executing three perfect rolls before sticking the landing, throwing his arms out in a 'ta-da' motion.

"Nice one, Mikey, but I think one show-off brother is enough for us tonight, don't you think?" Donnie said as he cast a sideways glance at where his last brother was just cresting the top of the ladder. He cut his eyes back to watch Raph clear the distance between one roof and the next, missing Leo give a minute flinch at his words. 

Leo straggled behind his brothers the rest of the way back to their lair, maintaining a silence that was out of place for the normally cocky and sarcastic turtle. The others took no notice as they playfully ran and flipped across the New York skyline, occasionally throwing barbs about the debacle at the maze and discussing if their pizza pie was really the best, or if they should give the Other Pizza Place a try to really get a balanced opinion. Leo was too distracted to really follow the thread of the conversation, though every jibe and criticism of his actions landed with unerring accuracy straight into his pride. 

It was true that what he'd done was selfish and careless, and he'd dragged his brothers into an almost lethal situation because he wanted - just for once in his life - to be recognized. Even if it was just some stupid competition at a pizza shop, even if he would be the only one who knew his picture was hanging on the wall, he wanted to hear those words of praise and be the champion of something. All his life, his brothers had excelled in different fields. Donnie was an undeniable super genius with a chaotic streak the size of the Upper East Side, who constantly made the kind of stuff that would have the guys at NASA drooling and begging to get their hands on. Mikey was their own Rupert Swaggart in the kitchen, and a budding artist - he had single-handedly decorated and painted their entire lair, made it a bright and welcoming home that they could be happy to come back to every day. Raph was a caring leader who looked out for his brothers, inviting everyone's opinions before coming up with a plan, and he was a hecking freight train in a fight.

Leo had his sarcasm.

It was his weapon and defence against his enemies, his brothers, and most of all himself. He knew he had nothing special to offer, so he made everything into a joke. Words can't hurt if they don't mean anything, the distance he felt between him and his family didn't seem so insurmountable if he was focusing on making a clever pun at someone else's expense. So what if his brothers only ever groaned at his one-liners? At least they were recognizing him, he had their attention for a brief moment as they glared in his direction.

He tuned back in as they were entering the lair just in time to hear Raphe suggest a movie marathon to finish off the night and get their minds off the maze, but he knew that the others would be unable to resist throwing jabs at him the whole time and he didn't really have the energy to deflect their words and put on a good-natured face. His feelings were running a little too close to the surface to keep his brothers from picking up that their jokes actually hurt, so he made his excuses about being tired and started towards his room. Once he turned the corner and was sure no one could see him, he let his shoulders slump and a defeated sigh escaped him in a slow whoosh. He tilted over until his head could rest against the cool brick, and took several deep breaths braced against the wall. It was fine. He was fine. By the morning this would all have blown over and he could once again put on the devil-may-care attitude that he wore like a favourite sweater and no one would be the wiser.

He was sure of it.


End file.
